Circular knitting machine needle stem



Nov; 24, 1970 J. GRECZIN 3,543,280

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE STEM Filed Nov. 30, 1967 IO j l4 3 FIG.3

3' A INVENTOR.

JOHN C.GRECZIN ATTORNEY.

United States Patent Office 3,543,280 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE STEM John Greczin, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Knitting Machinery Corp. of America, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Nov. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 686,929 Int. Cl. D04b 9/44 US. Cl. 66-9 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for knitting a tubular covering over a hose or other tubular body, said machine including a needle stem having slots so arranged as to accommodate six, or eight, equally spaced needles whereby a uniform-stitch covering can be knit over a hose of /2" or of diameter.

The knitting tube of a conventional knitting machine is capable of accommodating a /2 or /3" diameter hose. In the interest of strength and appearance, the stitches of the tubular covering must be of predetermined size and must not be spaced apart more than a predetermined distance. Experience shows that such a covering can be produced by using six needles which reciprocated in six equally spaced slots formed on the exterior of the needle stem. But, when a tubular covering is to be knit over a /8 diameter hose, eight needles are needed if the stitches are not to be undesirably large and spaced too far apart.

As far as I know, it has been the practice to have one needle stem with six equally spaced needle slots and another needle stem having eight equally spaced needle slots.

Needle stems are precision-made and hence expensive, and the cost in loss of production and in the labor needed to change from a six-slot to an eight-slot needle stem is of the order of one hour per machine. To this should be added the down time of the machine. My invention resides in producing a needle stem having six equally spaced slots for accommodating six needles for use in knitting a tubular covering having an ID. of /2 and having eight equally spaced slots for accommodating eight needles for use in knitting a tubular covering.

Since the invention resides in the needle stem construction, only so much of the knitting machine proper is shown and described as is needed to identify and locate the needle stem.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a circular knitting machine which employs a needle stern of the type referred to.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a needle stem embodying my invention.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the needle stem and shows the slot arrangement which permits the use of six, or of eight, equally spaced needles.

The machine illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a needle cylinder support 10, a cam core 12 having a cam slot 14, a cam ring 16, a needle cylinder 18, needle bars 20, a needle bar clamping ring 22, and a needle stem 24 which has slots to receive the shanks 26 of the vertically reciprocating needles 28. Because the manner in which a machine of this type operates forms no part of the present invention, and because it is conventional and well known, it is not shown nor described. It is suflicient to say that it is necessary that the stitches be of a predetermined size and spacing such, for example, as stitches 30. If the stitches 30 were knit with the use of six needles over a /2" diameter hose 32, it follows that the same stitches will have to be larger and farther apart if they are knit by six needles over a hose. It will be noted that the conventional needle cylinder has enough grooves to accommodate eight, or more, needles and preferably has twenty-four grooves. But, because needle stems were made with either six, or with eight equally spaced needle slots, it was necessary to change the needle stems according to whether the hose to be covered was of /2 or of diameter.

According to my invention, I provide needle stem 24 with six equally spaced needle slots which are marked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and with eight equally spaced slots which are marked 1, 2', 3, 4', 4, 6, 7 and 8. By this arrangement, I can put six needles in slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, or I can put eight needles in slots 1, 2, 3, 4', 4, 6', 7 and 8. It will be noted that, to make the change from six to eight needles, it is only necessary to add needles 7 and 8 and to re-arrange the other needles. Conversely, to change from eight to six needles, it is merely necessary to remove needles 7 and 8, and to rearrange the other needles. It will be appreciated that the change-over can be effected by merely loosening clamping ring 22 as disclosed in Pat. No. 2,201,905 whereas by replacing one needle stem 24 with another involves dismantling of all of the adjoining parts.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, slots 1-23-4 etc., are

at one distance apart; that slots 2'-33'4 etc., are at second distances apart; that slots 2'2 and 3-4 are at a third distance apart. It will be noted that distances between slots 1-2-3 etc. are equal; that distances 23'4' are equally and that distances 2'2, 34', etc., are equal. 3 WhatIclaim is: 1. In a circular knitting machine of the type having a needle cylinder of a first diameter provided with a first plurality of uniformly spaced slots, having a needle stem of a second and smaller diameter provided with a second plurality of slots, and having needles wherein the butt containing shank portions thereof are offset relative to their hook portions, and needles having their butt containing shank portions disposed in the slots of said needle cylinder and having their hook portions disposed in the slots of said needle stem, the improvement in said needle stem wherein said second plurality of slots are non-uniformly spaced and comprise all of its needle slots, said second plurality of slots being so spaced that a first series thereof are uniformly spaced and so that a second and larger numbered series thereof are also uniformly spaced with certain of said second plurality of slots being common to said two series thereof, and the number of slots in each of said series thereof being evenly divisible into the number of slots in said first plurality thereof in said needle cylinder.

2. A needle stem as in claim 1 wherein said first series of slots are spaced by sixty degrees and wherein said second series of slots are spaced by forty five degrees.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 456,496 7/ 1891 McMichael 66-115 XR 822,564 5/1906 Wheeler 66-8 XR 1,115,140 10/1914 Williams 66-115 2,222,288 11/1940 Ford 66-115 2,236,183 3/1941 Lerch et a1. 66-9 2,752,952 7/1956 Dauphinais 66-115 XR 2,951,355 9/1960 Bryant 66-115 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 95,878 4/ 1964 Great Britain.

WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 66-115 

